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winter rolling in now doing heat start up and inspections.. working on a funeral home today doing a start up before the place opens ( trying to get all the kinks out so we dont have to return when the bodies start coming in) burned inducer on a start up... dont make them like the use to, glad the call back wasnt a week from now though!

Im chris, New to this forum... Ive been workin in the field for a year now doin install. And im set to graduate from a 2 year program (HVAC) in december! I needa get my thread count up so i can go pro and see what all the vets are talkin about

Hi, I graduated in the spring with a 2 year degree in hvac. I have about 6 months experience in residential installs as a helper from a few years back and 3 winter seasons working in a sheet metal shop building commercial ductwork. I'm here to get access to the pro forums and build my troubleshooting skills. Thanks! Also, I have my epa universal license and core nate. Planning to take nate heat pump soon.

Well I first started out doing general construction for 9 years. I went back to school when the economy went down the dumps and home owners stopped renovating their homes. I decided to get into a career that would not fail me in the city of Chicago. I enrolled myself into ETI (environmental technical institute) which specializes in HVAC. Before I graduated I found a position with a local Hvac contractor. I started off as a PMT doing regular maintenance then within 3 months showed them I can cut it in this field. They threw me oncall and I was doing my job great. I had worked with that company for three years then left the residential industry to go commercial. I moved on to work as an in house pipefitter for Bell & Gossett. I'm sure you guys are familiar with B&G which by 11/1/11 will be changed from ITT B&G to B&G a Xylem brand. Now I work with some of the most classified hydronic Hvac engineers in the field. I am always wanting to learn new things and there are plenty to learn in this field so that's why I decided to register with HVactalk.com to maybe get some insite on issues i may run into in the future.

AMG

Hello to all. Hope to get some good tips and information concerning HVAC rules, regulations and help. I have been in the hvac business for many years, but have spent the last ten years in a supervisory role and not a lot of time in the field. I plan to start field work again this spring. This will be part time mainly evenings and weekends.

New To The Site

Hello, I just recently joined this site hoping to get some good information from everyone and also share alot of my knowledge. I curently own and operate a heating and air conditioning company in ontario. We have been in business for 6 Yrs and have expended to having 3 Trucks, 2 Trailers and we just currently purchased over first duct cleaning truck. Can't wait to share my knowledge and hopefully receive quite a bit more.

Hoping to get in soon

Went to school for hvacr for about 7 mnths,aquired my EPA certification type universal, then took the GED exam n passed it, have been looking for work for a long time but all I run into is employers looking for experienced techs with 3+ years n some even asking for 5+ years,I love fixing stuff that is why I took up this trade. I am a self thaught mechanic, and perfomed my first attempt on swapping the engine on my car with succes,in school I got the electrical part down so fast That I had surpassed most of the 2nd semester student on my first week of the electrical board,so I know that with the guidance and training of a skilled tech I will aquire the knowledge and experience needed to perform installs or service calls on my own or a with a helper,I know us new techs are a risky investment but come on we all needed a brake at some point, and all of us knew nothing at some point,so to them employers out there well.... Hire me already haha not a joke, I live in the l.a county willing to travel so if anyone has any good job leads that they can give me it will be greately appreciated by me and my family thanks,p.a what's the advantage of being a pro member?

i started out when i was 18 working for a good friends uncle at his hvac buisness. Just a gofer. At 19 i joined the Air Force and they sent me to their heating school. At that time they had seperate careir feilds for heating and a/c. After 2 years of working on boilers and hydronic systems, they sent me to school for air conditioning. For the next 2 years of my inlistment i didn't touch another a/c. After 4 years in the wild blue yonder i got out feeling very confident with my skills and quickly realized i had a long ways to go.

Im back, The first guy i worked with after the AF was was a great teacher. As was standing their watching him pan in a furnace he turned to me and said, you better get off your dead --- and anticipate what were going to do next and get it ready!!! I did and we soon got along just fine. The owner of that company was the best teacher i have eaver had. He would never directly answer any question i ever put to him. Insted he would answer a question with a question, making me think and answer it myself. I learned from day forward, trouble shooting was nothing more then a series of unanswerd questions you ask yourself. got to go now.

I started out like tech23, as a kid all i did was build legos. In high school I was the guy that you came to to get speakers put in your car. Then I joined the Marines at 18 yrs old, and I got an Engineer MOS, refrigeration mechanic. This is where my true interest came about. I attended MOS school and got my epa cert in 2 months, for the next 5 years I was working in small mobile AC units, to thermo king VM405s, Deisel generators, water pumps etc. I got out of the Marines in 05 and had several interviews lined up and got really lucky. I landed a job with a commercial refrigeration service company that also worked on the hot side as well. It was funny, in the Marines I was nominated for engineer of the year, I knew more than most of my peers but wow, I didnt know crap in the civilian world. SOOOOO much out there that can break. One day you could work on a hoshi, then a fryer, then a walk in cooler, and the next a manitowoc, a pizza oven then a margarita machine. Eventually after about 6 months of being trained my boss made me an installer, walk in coolers all that stuff. I came home every night and researched things that I saw on a job that I didnt understand. I spent an hour studying every night. Finally it just hit me and became a tech, then service manager, then finally after about 6 yrs with that same company, I started my own and Im loving it. The one thing that I will say is that if you think you know it all in this industry, you need to get another job. I learn something everyday, thats why I love this trade. There are always days that you hate it, but I always remind myself that after doing 2 tours in Iraq, it can always be worse.

Some advise for those who are trying to pursue this career seriously, and what has made me successful,
1. get into the commercial/ restaurant sector if you can, its not seasonal, stuff breaks constantly year round. If your ac breaks in your home, youre hot and you can live. If a walk in cooler breaks at a steak restaurant, they HAVE to fix it. could be $20,000 worth of meat in there.
2. You could be the smartest, best tech in the world, but if you cant talk to people and treat them right, forget it they will not call you. I dont know it all, and honestly never will. but I know what I know and I definatley know how to talk and treat customers. Trust me it goes a long way
3. never stop reading, researching, and learning.
I have really enjoyed this forum, there are a lot of good techs on this site. I look forward to talking and sharing experiences with everyone on here. Thanks

I stayed at school longer than usual today. We discussed capacitors and potential relays. I got the opportunity to hook up a run and start capacitor to the potential relay... all without getting shocked I can't believe how much I'm learning!! I was so excited after leaving school, I had to come home to look at my unit; I knew what I was looking at!!

Hi all. Im attending an hvac school and learning lots. Im about 2 weeks away from finishing the basic electric class, already did basic refrigeration. Ive got a Universal EPA license and already working on two different heaters. One is a gas furnace at a friends house, bad pilot ignition and th e9 other is an electric heater at my moms place. I had trouble with the pilot for the gas furnace cause I didnt recognise the pilot, well after some diggin I determined its a DSI... This fella has had one guy out to look at it (per his landlord) and the guy left before wiring the dsi in cause he didnt know where it went to. So he give me a hollar, I honestly dont either yet but im talking the time to aak my instructor about it.
My moms furnace had a coil go out, so the apt maint guy brings in new coils that he declared may not work. I check the wires and found out, hes right... Halfway. The coils have power, but they have no amp draw. For some reason there is a loss of amps between the t-stat and the coil.

Thats my experience so far. Oh and I cleaned an evap coil and condensate drain at my buddys place. Not much but ive had loads of fun so far just gaining experience.

I got my start as a young boy going to job sites with my Dad. Then I started working in the warehouse/ parts runner and doing helper work when I was 18. I would help on installs of new equipment and repairs and rebuilds of large equipment. I was also chief filter changer.

I went to school at Ivy Tec in 1995 and attended their first quick step program. A fast track HVAC program. I have a universal refrigerant certification. I have been the field ever since. I have assisted in the rebuild of Trane centrifugal chillers. I have Installed and serviced roof top equipment. I have installed and serviced sectional boilers. Installed super high efficiency boiler. Serviced and installed splits, tube heater, unit heaters, cooling towers, central station chillers, process chillers. I have done work walk in freezers and coolers, and prep tables.

I am not the best there is and I don't know everything there is about HVACR? Not even close. That's why I am here. Too learn more.